Arrhythmia
by ChiseChitose
Summary: Jounouchi Katsuya reflects on the love of his life and how unrequited love literally hurts. JounouchiYuugi


Author: Serenity Miral

Pairing: Wishshipping (Katsuya/Yuugi)

Rated: R

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the clothes on my back.

Author's Note: I've changed the way Jounouchi receives his Red Eyes Black Dragon. My way is more sentimental. Also, when I say Yuugi, I also mean Yami no Yuugi. I'm considering them to be one whole person in this fic, just to clear things up.

Arrhythmia

Sometimes I see him and my heart literally skips a beat. It became so bad that I went to see a doctor. Turns out that it wasn't just him causing it, but I actually have a medical condition and I have to take medication for it. The medicine helps, but I still skip every time I see him. Hell, I can barely control myself anymore. Hardly anyone can. He's beautiful. I used to feel weird thinking like that, guys are generally not beautiful. Girls are beautiful. Girls like Mai, Anzu, my sister Shizuka, even that little brat Rebecca, one day she'll grow up and be beautiful. Girls are beautiful, but none of these girls can compare to _him_.

I sound like such a freaking sap. Me, Jounouchi Katsuya a big gushy sap. Honda would probably kick my ass if he heard me talking like this. I can't help it, whenever it comes to him; I turn into a big pile of mush. And don't even get me started when he flashes those gorgeous eyes at me. Yuugi… what the hell did you do to me?

It started innocently enough. We were friends, good friends. He and his grandfather taught me how to duel. The depth of his friendship startled me at first. He was honest and kind, loyal to a fault. It almost sounds like I'm describing a dog (damn you Kaiba!) Over a short period of time, he began to change. He was still the best friend a guy could ever hope for but, something was different about him. He carried himself with more dignity and pride, like a king. He was the embodiment of calm and cool. He was able to defeat Kaiba at a game of Duel Monsters without breaking a sweat! He stared him down with this confident smirk that would make any normal girl go nuts over. When I saw that smirk, my heart skipped for the first time. It was then that I felt my feelings for him evolve.

He went to Duelist Kingdom and took me with him. He gave me his star chips so I could participate. At the end of the tournament, he gave me the prize money he won so I could help my sister. I don't know about your friends, but not many guys would part with 3 million dollars just to help a guy's sister, someone he had never met no less! His heart had to have been made out of pure gold.

He gave me his Red Eyes Black Dragon. It's now the most important card in my deck. Everyone thinks it's my favorite because it's so powerful. That's not the case at all. Sure it's powerful and awesome but to me, it represents Yuugi in all his glory; fierce and loyal, dangerous and cunning yet so incredibly beautiful. Just like Yuugi. When I watch Yuugi duel, it's like watching a human Red Eyes fight. I have noticed something else as well. Whenever Yuugi duels, his eyes seem to turn the exact color of the Red Eyes. That same stunning shade of ruby that entrance me every time I play that card. Now, whenever I play that card, my heart skips a beat.

Something had to be done; my behavior around him was beginning to change. I started to play the part of the dumb blonde jock to extremes. I even tried to convince myself that I had a crush on Mai. That wasn't so hard. Look at her! She's amazing! She's a great duelist, confident and proud, not to mention drop dead gorgeous! She also had violet eyes, not quite the same shade as Yuugi's but close enough.

Over time, Mai developed feelings for me. We had a type of sexual tension between us that I found relieving, I say relieving because my focus was set on her, not Yuugi. It didn't work out. No matter what I did, no matter how much I tried to love her, I kept comparing her to Yuugi, the person I could never have. Luckily, her feelings for me withered and went back to being good friends.

During Battle City, I lost my Red Eyes to a Rare Hunter. Yuugi stepped in a won it back for me. When he tried to return it to me, I told him to keep it as a symbol of our friendship, and for luck. Yuugi has this power in him that I don't understand. It was that power that saved me and my friends from certain death. It is that same power that makes me love him all the more. Not matter how I tried to deny, I was in love with him.

It grew harder and harder for me to be around him, especially when Kaiba was involved. It was obvious Yuugi had a thing for him and he knew that there was no love lost between the two of us. One day he confessed to me his feelings for the C.E.O. I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't budge. My heart was torn into pieces that day. I wished him good luck and I promised to stand by him. I went home and broke into my dad's liquor. I spent the rest of the night drinking my pain away.

I drifted through the days, my mind in a cloudy haze. All I could think about was that Yuugi loved Kaiba, not me. I found myself getting into fights more often than naught. Honda and Anzu were at a loss. I had them convinced that I was simply discontent with my life. Yuugi of course, saw right through my lies.

I was on my way home after school. Yuugi had suggested that I come by but I gave him a lame excuse and went my separate way. I should have known he wouldn't take no for an answer. I was cutting through the park when I saw him standing against a tree, oh so causally. I don't know how he did it. For a guy so short, he always managed to look about six feet tall. Maybe it was that take no shit attitude of his. He stood there, waiting for me, his blond bangs swaying in the breeze. I could tell from his stance that he was annoyed. I pretended not to see him as I passed by, but then he called out in that deep voice of his that he reserves for dueling.

"JOUNOUCHI!"

I turned. My heart skipped a beat. I was about to play the dumb blonde routine when I thought better of it. "Hey Yuugi," I said in a quiet voice. The wind blew gently, tossing my hair into my eyes. Yuugi refused to move from his spot under the tree. A frown crossed his beautiful face, making him look like an angry angel.

"You trust me don't you?" he asked. I lifted my head in surprise.

"Of course I do! What makes you think otherwise?"

His violet eyes had turned that shade of red that I loved so much. My heat skipped once more. "Why have you been avoiding me? I know something is wrong with you. Why won't you let me help?"

I grew angry, irrationally angry. "Why is that you always have to be the hero Yuugi? Why do you always have to save the day? I am not a freaking damsel in distress! If I have a problem, let me deal with it! My problems are not yours to solve!"

I balled my hands into fists. "Where do you get off being my keeper? I do know how to take care of myself! Did it ever occur to you that maybe I was tired of being around you and the rest of the gang? Did it ever occur to you that maybe I needed some time to myself?" His eyes widened in surprise. He moved towards me but I held up my hands to ward him off.

"Just… leave me alone! I really don't want to talk to you right now." I turned on my heel and fled. As I ran, I could hear Kaiba's voice mocking me, ridiculing me for being a cowardly dog.

For once, I thought, he was right.

It was raining, thunder storming more like it. I was curled up on my bed, shivering. Not from the cold, but from my tears. My friendship with Yuugi was dying. My heart was pounding in my chest, skipping irregularly. I had taken my medicine to no avail. My doctor had even upped the dosage. He didn't understand why my condition wasn't getting any better. I knew why. Because I was a coward. Because I was in love and it was unrequited. I looked out my window and was comforted. At least I wasn't suffering alone.

I was just drifting off to sleep when the phone rang. My dad wasn't there to answer it and I didn't feel like moving. It just kept ringing and ringing until the answering service clicked on.

"Jounouchi its Yuugi. If you're there, please pick up the phone."

I rolled over and stuffed my pillow over my head, trying to block out the sound of his voice.

"Onegai Jounouchi. I need to speak with you." His voice sounded strange, even though my pillow. It sounded like he was in pain, like he had been crying. I jumped up and ran towards the phone. As soon as I answered it, however, Yuugi had already hung up. I was ready to dial his number, but I held back. I set the phone back into the cradle and erased the message from the machine. I walked back into my room and huddled under the covers of my bed.

My heart skipped a beat.


End file.
